I'm seeing contradictory reports. Anybody with their ear to the ground have the real story?

Yeah I'm now seeing VIA social media King 5 jumped the gun.

Still nada.

We all know its not going to be "Hey everybody, liberal limits all around!", nor should it be. So why do I have this sinking feeling that we are going to get extra, double secret probation screwed? Like more than normal?

Zero expectations = zero disappointments.

We'll probably get Reiter and only Reiter. Awesome.

http://www.king5.com/tech/science/enviro...shing/215019034

Says this: Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife officials say tribal fishery managers and the state are in the final stages of reaching an agreement in the stalemate over salmon fishing. A deal could be finalized at any moment.

Salmon fishing could open as early as next week, but the agreement must first be approved by NOAA.

heres one of the drafts that has been leaked...

I just called wdfw and he said areas 4 and 5 are open july 1 for kings, no coho anywhere accept area 1, and probably a short window for Puget sound kings. He also confirmed King 5 jumped the gun.

Here's some information rec'd from Laurie Peterson, WDFW, about 40 minutes ago. Still a work in progress.



Hello advisors –

This afternoon we are hearing of an erroneous report from King 5 News saying that we have state-tribal agreement on Puget Sound salmon fisheries. Just to clarify, we still do not have agreement. Ron Warren and others are working to clear up this erroneous news report. Please clarify any erroneous rumors among the public constituents who you work with..... as we still are negotiating and have not reached final agreement. More updates soon as we know of them…

I received the following from the office of Maria Cantwell:

Thank you for contacting me regarding Puget Sound salmon fishing agreements. I appreciate hearing from you on this important matter.

Each spring, state, Tribal, and federal fishery managers hold a series of meetings in coordination with the Pacific Fishery Management Council, to determine a Puget Sound salmon fishing agreement. Ultimately, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Puget Sound treaty tribes formulate a proposed Puget Sound salmon fishing plan based on those meetings. This is called the North of Falcon process. The plan developed by North of Falcon is then submitted to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for final approval, which is required by law because a number of salmon stocks in Puget Sound are listed under the Endangered Species Act. In the 2016-2017 season, for the first time in 30 years, the state and Tribes did not reach an agreement at North of Falcon before the start of the season. I was active in urging both sides to come to the table to continue productive discussions, and am thankful to hear that the state and Tribes are getting closer to an agreement. I was active in urging both sides to come to the table to continue productive discussions, and am thankful to hear that the state and Tribes are getting closer to an agreement.

The importance of salmon fishing to the Pacific Northwest is enormous, and the potential closure of this fishery has increasingly far reaching consequences for tribal, commercial and recreational communities across Washington state and the Pacific Northwest. Tribes have been fishing in Puget Sound for thousands of years. The maritime industry in Washington state alone directly employs 57,700 people and contributes $30 billion in economic activity annually.

Since being elected to the Senate, I have committed to preserving our robust and vibrant commercial, tribal and recreational fishing communities and the marine ecosystems they depend on. That is why I have consistently supported expanding salmon conservation, research, and restoration activities like the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF). As of 2015, PCSRF funds have restored more than 1,031,000 acres of essential fish habitat and opened up more than 8,700 miles of streams for fish passage, but we can’t stop there. As declines in certain salmon stocks continue, protecting of salmon and the habitat they depend on, only grows in importance.

Thank you again for contacting me to share your thoughts on this matter. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,
Maria Cantwell
United States Senator

About noon today, headed south on I-5 through Mount Vernon, across the river on the bar saw a fly guy flailing the water. Could have been practice but had waders on and out knee deep. Maybe he knew something we didn't.

I saw that same guy walking the beach on Sunday morning. Then he was over on a certain local lake that afternoon. Pretty sure that guy gets around and is not up to speed on current events. That guy should be more careful.

FYI-
Salmon co-managers agree on Puget Sound fisheries, will work to improve season-setting process - http://nwtreatytribes.org/salmon-co-mana...etting-process/

Salmon seasons set for Puget Sound;
area waters expected to re-open to fishing soon
OLYMPIA – State and tribal leaders today reached an agreement on Puget Sound fisheries that is expected to pave the way toward opening summer salmon seasons and waters recently closed to recreational fishing.
The co-managers agreed on this year's Puget Sound salmon seasons after several weeks of extended negotiations. Anticipated low numbers of salmon – especially coho – returning to Puget Sound made this year's negotiations challenging.
Agreement on fishing seasons is a key step in obtaining a joint federal permit required to conduct fisheries in Puget Sound waters, where some fish stocks are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) closed many Puget Sound-area waters to fishing on May 1, after the previous federal authorization to conduct fisheries expired.
"We plan to re-open those waters as soon as we have federal approval," said John Long, salmon fisheries policy lead for WDFW. "We anticipate getting the new permit within a few weeks."
More information on the fisheries that closed May 1 is available on the department's website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/pugetsound_salmon_update/.
In the meantime, anglers can begin making plans to fish for salmon this summer in Puget Sound-area waters, where most of those fisheries will target hatchery chinook. Salmon fisheries throughout the Puget Sound area will be constrained to protect coho salmon and other weak salmon stocks, Long said.
"Conservation is key in developing these fisheries, especially in a year with such low returns expected back to the Sound," Long said. "We worked hard to meet those conservation needs and provide fisheries that are meaningful for both state and tribal fishers."
Changes in Puget Sound salmon fisheries since last summer can be found on WDFW's website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/northfalcon/, where information on Washington's salmon fisheries in ocean waters and the Columbia River also is available. Some of those changes include:
• Marine Area 10 (Seattle/Bremerton) will be open from July 16 to Aug. 15, or when the quota of 1,395 fish is met. The area was closed last summer to chinook retention. Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet) will be open on the same dates as Marine Area 10, but also could close sooner if the quota of 3,056 fish is met.
• There will be no coho fisheries in marine areas of Puget Sound, with the exception of Hood Canal, where sufficient coho are forecast to return.
• WDFW is closing some rivers and marine areas to all salmon fishing during September and October, the peak months for coho salmon to return to Puget Sound. Rivers slated for closures include the Skagit, Stillaguamish and Nisqually. Lakes Washington and Sammamish also will be closed to fishing during those months.
• The lower mainstem of the Skokomish River will be closed to non-tribal fishing this year due to a claim by the tribe that the river is part of the Skokomish Reservation and public access is prohibited. WDFW is working to evaluate this claim. The closed area includes the section of river from the Tacoma Public Utilities power lines (near the mouth of the river) upstream to the Bonneville Power Administration power lines (upstream and west of Highway 101). The department advises anglers to observe this closure of the state's fishery that will be monitored by WDFW police.
More details on salmon seasons in Puget Sound and other areas of Washington will be available on WDFW's website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/ later this month.
For information on tribal fisheries, contact the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (http://nwifc.org/).

Thanks Chetwoot for the update.

Puget Sound

State and tribal fishery managers agreed May 26 on 2016's salmon fisheries for Puget Sound. Changes from 2015 include:
•Fishing will be closed on the following rivers during September and October to protect coho: Skagit, Cascade, Snohomish, the mainstem Stillaguamish, Green and Nisqually. Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish will also be closed to fishing in September and October.
•The Puyallup River will be closed to recreational salmon-fishing this year. The Carbon River will open for 15 days to recreational salmon-fishing in which anglers may keep up to two hatchery chinook.
•The Snohomish River, however, will be open to fishing for hatchery chinook salmon June 1 through July 30.
•Anglers can retain two hatchery chinook, plus two sockeye, when fishing in marine areas 5 (Sekiu) and 6 (East Juan de Fuca Strait) from July 1 to Aug. 15.
•Anglers fishing in Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands) in July can retain two salmon including two hatchery chinook (but must release coho and wild chinook) and can retain one hatchery or wild chinook in August and September as part of their two salmon daily limit.
•The forecast for sockeye returning to Baker Lake is strong enough to allow for both a lake fishery, open mid-July through early September, and a fishery on the Skagit River, which will be open June 16 through July 15 with a guideline of 4,600 fish.
•Marine Areas 8-1 (Deception Pass, Hope Island and Skagit Bay) and 8-2 (Ports Susan and Gardner) will remain closed to salmon fishing until November, when anglers will be allowed to retain hatchery chinook but must release coho.
•Marine areas 9 (Admiralty Inlet) and 10 (Seattle/Bremerton) will be open July 16 to Aug. 15 to fishing for hatchery chinook. The areas could close early if the chinook quota in each area – 3,056 fish in 9 and 1,395 fish in 10 – is met.
•Hood Canal (Marine Area 12) will be open to coho fishing both north and south of Ayock Point starting Aug. 16 and July 1 respectively.
•Anglers fishing south of Ayock can retain up to four hatchery chinook, 20 inches or bigger, July through Sept. 30. Anglers with a two-pole fishing endorsement can fish with two poles from July through October. Those fishing north of Ayock can fish for hatchery chinook beginning Oct. 1.
•Marine Area 11 (Tacoma-Vashon Island) will be closed to salmon-fishing in September and October to protect coho. The area also will be closed to fishing for blackmouth (winter hatchery chinook) November through January. The area typically is closed to salmon fishing in January.
•Piers that are typically open year-round will be closed to salmon fishing during September and October to protect coho, except for the piers within Sinclair Inlet, which will be open year-round. When piers are open, anglers may retain one chinook but must release all coho, except at Sinclair Inlet piers, where anglers may retain hatchery coho.
•The lower mainstem of the Skokomish River will be closed to non-tribal fishing this year due to a claim by the tribe that the river is part of the Skokomish Reservation and public access is prohibited. WDFW is working to evaluate this claim. The closed area includes the section of river from the Tacoma Public Utilities power lines (near the mouth of the river) upstream to the Bonneville Power Administration power lines (upstream and west of Highway 101). The department advises anglers to observe this closure of the state's fishery that will be monitored by WDFW police.
•A complete description of Puget Sound salmon fisheries can be found in the 2016-17 Washington Sport Fishing Rules pamphlet, which will be available in the coming weeks. Check WDFW's fishing regulations webpage at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/ for more details.

Columbia River and ocean
Salmon-fishing seasons have been set for the Columbia River and Washington's ocean waters.
•Columbia River
•Ocean (Marines Areas 1-4)

A complete description of salmon fisheries can be found in the 2016-17 Washington Sport Fishing Rules pamphlet, which will be available by the end of June.

what a joke...

The biggest loss there is NO fishing in the Puyallup. They should have never agreed to that when there are harvestable hatchery Chinook for the taking.

I dunno WTF you're talking about Evo, but the summer Chinook fishery we've been offered is the best we have seen in 3 years. 3k in 9 and 1.3k in 10 will provide a good (albeit short) summer fishing opportunity.

Losing UM retention in 7 is kind of a big hit, but there was a tradeoff by increasing the bag to 2 hatchery.

I don't think ANYONE thought we were looking at a Coho season from the get-go. A lot of what the state was proposing was CNR only in the salt.....

Link to WDFW Announcement

Very surprised to see an Area 10 King fishery.

No Sky closure on Coho in Sept / Oct??? Huh?

i live 10 minutes from the Puyallup thats WTF im talking about... i already posted the counts from the last 10 years on this very post, this will be the 3rd largest run of Kings the Puyallup has seen in 10 years, and the Coho counts are always right around 6k fish or more, INCLUDING last year when they said there was NO COHO, they still got back 6400 Coho....

sure, if you have a nice big ass boat and can drive it up to Seattle, you have a good fishery...

i fish rivers... and 2 of them i fish heavily are closed when the fish will be there, and its fvcking bullsh!t....

Can someone please clarify when the Sky will open for summer run? If I understand correctly it could be a few weeks.

"We plan to re-open those waters as soon as we have federal approval," said John Long, salmon fisheries policy lead for WDFW. "We anticipate getting the new permit within a few weeks."

If that's the case I feel bad for anyone planning to fish the coastal rivers. They're gonna be a joke. All the puget sound river pressure will go somewhere.